Taboo
by ebonynightwriter
Summary: be-the-peaf #024; / Mako and Korra are loyal soldiers in Amon's Equalist Army, who have slowly been spreading throughout the world. When Mako and Korra are sent to the heart of the bending rebellions - Republic City - things start to get complicated. Things aren't always as they seem... / Equalist!Makorra.


**Title: **Taboo  
**Word Count: **8,521  
**Summary: **[Mako and Korra are loyal soldiers in Amon's Equalist Movement, slowly spreading through the world. Bending is becoming scarce, but there are still up-risings happening in the world. When Mako and Korra are sent to the heart of the rebellions - Republic City - things start to get complicated. Things aren't always as they seem... | Equalist!Makorra.]

**be-the-peaf **· Prompt 024 – Forbidden

-.-

**Note: **I wrote this in basically the span of one day and have been writing most of it for the past 8-9 hours so if there are any mistakes in here sorry but _I have been writing for 8-9 hours_ so you'll just have to live with it.

-.-

Mako leans against the railing of the old steamship as it chugs along, a towering pillar of black smoke rising from it's spout. The sea air is warm, blowing against his face and he glances down to the water below, watching the waves shimmer and blur as they press their journey forward. They've been out on the water for a few days now, he's beginning to loose count on just how many it's been. But he knows they'll be there soon; he asked the captain about it earlier. All he has to do is wait for the ship to ring it's horn, slow it's engines and dock. It's as simple as that.

"There you are."

He turns at the voice in an instant, standing straighter at the rail as she places an elbow on it, sinking lazily into the metal. She flashes him with a grin, nudging his arm lightly. "Been looking for you."

"Like you didn't know where I was." He raises his brow. "It's just a steamship, Korra. Even you can't get lost on this."

"I wasn't lost," she pouts. "I told you I was just taking a quick nap and when I woke up you were gone out of the blue!"

"That was an hour ago," he says, unimpressed with her tales of woe. She'd always been bored when going in-between places, it wouldn't surprise him if she ended up taking one or two more 'naps' before they reached shore. "Besides, I left a note."

Korra crosses her arms. "I didn't see it."

"You didn't look."

"How long are we going to be on this hunk of steel anyway?" she says, leaning forward on the rail to make an ugly face in the water's reflection (and he can almost laugh). "We've been out for days!"

"Just a little longer; the captain said we should be there by nightfall."

"That's still too long! I'm getting tired of this old steamer." She says while Mako only rolls his eyes. She ignores it, looking up at the sky.

"I'm getting hungry," she notes after a moment, tilting her head at him. "Wanna get a bite?"

"Fine, it's getting cold out here anyway." He says, stuffing his hands in his pockets as she leads the way to the dining hall. Mako walks at a slow pace behind her, taking his time to get off the deck. He turns around, just once, before heading inside and he can smell the salt in the air, feel the cool mist of wind blow on his face.

The sun will be setting soon.

Mako thinks can see the outline of the city on the horizon. - but it's only his imagination.

-.-

Mako thinks he's never in his life seen Korra act so _gleeful_ before. She had been staring wide-eyed at the approaching buildings ever since they got back from dinner, her mouth open in a huge grin that spread from ear-to-ear. It's understandable, this being her first time to the city, but it was almost getting on his nerves and he wasn't sure he'd be able to take another -

"We're here! Finally!" Korra shouts as the ship comes to a creeping halt on the docks.

"That's the seventh time you've said that," he says, rubbing his forehead. "You don't need to repeat yourself."

"Oh, shut it, City Boy." She laughs, watching the crew as they hustle to get the gangplank stationed. "I'm just happy to get off this boat."

"Among other things," he sighs. "Just remember Korra, you can't go off just yet. We've got to our supplies, uniforms-"

She grabs his hand just as the gangplank falls into place and pulls him off the ship without a second thought.

He didn't even get to finish his sentence.

-.-

"Hey! Slow down!"

"Not a chance!" she yells, a laugh ripping through her throat as she pulls him along the streets, her eyes darting from street to street, building to building and all the people and cars in-between. "Where should we go first? I want to see it all!"

"Just take it easy!" he shouts, finally getting enough strength to pull her to a stop. It takes him a moment to catch his breath, panting to the ground. "We've got more important things to do than sight-seeing. We have to get down to headquarters and report in; they're waiting."

"Then they can wait a little longer, come on." She says, trying to pull him along but he holds his ground, taking his arm from her and laying both of them in front of his chest, staring hard at her. It takes a moment of her infamous pout and an equally strong stink-eye at him before she finally gives a long sigh and gives up her plight.

"Fine," she says, extending her hand across the city. "Lead the way."

He gives a triumphant smirk in response and she sticks out her tongue while he walks up to the street, lifting his arm to hail down a cab. After a few passing by with passengers already stuffed between their doors, an empty one comes to a stop before him. Mako reaches for the door, holding it open as Korra steps inside, settling down in the seat like a tempered child who didn't get that toy they wanted. He ignores it for the most part, tells the cabbie their destination and sitting in the seat closest to the curb. He rests his elbow on the window, watching the city pass by in a sunset lit blur.

-.-

The cab stops twenty minutes later. Mako pays the driver before getting out, standing in front of a tall building when he does. There are guards at the door and they let him and Korra pass without question, giving each a bow as they enter the wooden doors. Inside is a large room surrounded by a staircase that winds along it's sides and a golden chandelier hangs a little ways into the entrance, clear cut crystals hanging from it. This place must have been a hotel before it was converted into Headquarters, Mako thinks briefly on how much it would have cost to stay in a place like this but the thought is quickly swept away as an Equalist Private comes over to meet them.

"It's good to see you made it over safely, Master Sergeant." He says, bowing to Korra and turn over to Mako to give him his own bow. "Sergeant."

"Yeah, we made it over fine," Korra says, crossing her arms. "Where's your commanding officer? We need a better briefing than the one we got in Ba Sing Se."

"The General is elsewhere in the city, he requests that you get some rest before he returns; you'll be assigned a mission once he does." The Private says, looking over to the staircase. "Your luggage was already brought down from the ship, your rooms are on the third floor."

Korra nods and the Private leaves them, going to another room on the floor. Mako starts heading up the stairway with Korra following behind. They reach the third floor and locate their rooms on the opposite side of the hall from another. Mako enters the room to find the duffel bag he uses for travel set down on the bed. He zips it open, unpacking his few belongings onto the soft bedspread; an extra change of cloths, a ratty tank-top and pants, socks, toothbrush, etc. It's not much, but it's all he'll need for now. He looks across to the room's side to see his familiar green and red uniform standing on a manikin against the wall. Mako approaches the uniform, rubbing the skin-tight material in his hand and checking to make sure the belts and pockets made it through the trip.

Just as he determines it to be satisfactory, Korra throws the door open, trotting across the room and launching herself down on the bed - and his clothes.

"Hey, get off those!" he says. Korra raises her arms above her head, stretching out her muscles. Putting his hands on his waist, he walks up to the bed and glares. "Hey, get up!" he repeats.

She, of course, ignores him.

"I'm bored." She says, lifting her head. "Let's go do something."

Mako sighs. "Korra, I'm tired. I need to get some sleep before the mission starts. Aren't you the same?"

"I slept on the ship, remember?" she sits up on the bed and Mako manages to pull one of the shirts from under her. "I've got nothing to do."

He folds the shirt. "So why don't you go look around the building or something? Wake me when it's time to go."

"Good idea, Sergeant." She says, grinning and hopping off the bed. "I'll get you up once I'm done with the scout." She walks to the door.

"Hey -" he calls after her. "Don't go waking me up in ten minutes because you're done, I want to get _some_ sleep."

"Will do." She says, giving him a two-finger salute and heading off. Mako puts away the rest of the items on the bed and collapses into the soft bedding. Sinking his head into the pillow, he's ready for some sleep, no matter how short it may be.

-.-

He wakes a few hours later to Korra's softened voice and hand on his shoulder, edging him from the slumber. Once he's up and alert, the two walk down to the ground floor where Korra leads him through the halls, taking corners and doorways until they reach the briefing room. It looks like it could have been a small smoking room at one point for the men in the hotel. There are still a few of the plush round chairs that they would have used standing around but they're not in use - all the people in the room are gathered over a table in the center of the room. Papers and maps lay scattered over the surface and ashtrays linger on the edge, open for the smoldering butt of the cigarettes that hang from the officers lips. Korra takes a place among the men with Mako falling in line next to her. The General stands at the end of the table, blowing smoke onto the papers as he finishes through a report.

"Alright! Let's get started." he mutters, slapping a hand on the table. "First order of business; I'd like to welcome Master Sergeant Korra and Sergeant Mako, who came all the way from the orderings of Ba Sing Se to help us with this little problem."

The room claps briefly and Korra nods to the General in thanks. The man continues, pacing in his place as he takes a drag from his cigarette. The smoke draws from his mouth like a dragon, rolling off his face in a gray mist.

"Now the whole reason we've gathered you here today is because the bender rebellion has started to crawl out of it's dirty hole." The General faces the table, looking over the face before him. "There have been rumors that they threaten to shake the foundation of the city, and destroy our hold here after so many years of peace."

One of the men, a Staff Sergeant a rank above Mako, raises their hand to interrupt. "Do we know what they are planning?"

"Nothing yet, I'm afraid. We've been searching around for their hideouts for months." The General sighs, scratching at his hair line as he leans over the table. "We think their plan is going to be revealed sometime in the near future - with any luck they'll get sloppy with victory drawing near and we'll be able to flush the weasel-rat from their hole.

"We know they've been stationed somewhere in the lower districts, hidden and scattering in the thin alleys and clusters of buildings. I want to send out small groups out tonight to scout out the areas yet to be scanned. Look for any sign of anger, any hint that a person might be a bender. I've already assigned your patrols. You leave now. Dismissed."

The officers bow and leave the room without hesitation. Mako and Korra remain, pressed against the table's edge to see their assignment for the mission. Once they have it, they go to the motor pool outside. Mako takes up a motorcycle and Korra sits behind him, her arms locked in place over his stomach. After a quick head-count to make sure their squad is in correct order, they head out into the night with the roar of engines at their feet.

Their destination: Dragon Flats Borough.

-.-

It had been years since he had been in this city but the Borough was still the same decrepit, low-life hole it had always been. It was a maze - houses after house and twisting narrow streets, stinking sidewalks and dead-end alleys. There wasn't a lot of people outside this time of night, but the ones who did stared at the group as they passed on their heavy bikes, eyes hallow and wrists thin. Mako keeps his attention on the road, knowing full well that these people did not have a choice in being here.

"This place is a dump; worse than the low districts of Ba Sing Se." Korra mutters on his shoulder, watching the homeless and poor they go by. "I always thought this city was above all that stuff, but it seems just as bad as the rest."

"There are still a lot of poor non-benders rustling around here, they don't have anywhere to go." He explains, "It used to be a lot worse when the benders ran amok - it would be dangerous to be out here."

"I bet. Damn benders…" she curses, bearing her teeth to the wind. "They're nothing but a bunch of bullies. I'm glad Amon has finally put things right."

"Not quite," he says. "We're still on this mission, right? We have to find the benders here to insure they don't hurt anyone ever again. That's our job."

"Don't worry about that," Korra says, her grip around his waist tightening. "We'll see to that one way or another. We're the best in the business, remember?"

He laughs. "Right, something like that." Mako grins, shaking his head. He slows to a stop midway on the street and the squad follows, dismounting their bikes. Korra faces them, her hands locked behind her back as she gives her orders.

"Alright, we're going to do a perimeter sweep through this area. Go in groups of two and look everywhere. Question anyone who might be a bender and stay alert, watch each other's backs. If you find anything or anyone, report in with the radio you received at the beginning of the night, either myself or Sergeant Mako. Move out."

"Nice command, Master." Mako whispers, leaning in behind her. Korra turns around and pushes him aside.

"Let's go find some benders, Sergeant."

-.-

They walk close together, eyes shifting over the street, looking into alleyways and beyond the darkness of the street-lamps. News must have already spread of their arrival because as they go down the streets they begin to see more people, huddling together on the street edge, hiding behind the makeshift windows and the cracks of doors. Despite all they've done to make this world a better, equal one there are still people who do not support their banner and would see to do harm to them, bender or not.

"Stay on your guard," Mako whispers as they turn the next corner to a new wave of people. "We don't know if any of these people are benders."

"I know," Korra says, never taking her eyes from the crowd. They pass another alley by when Korra spots something and approaches the entrance, she waves Mako to her and they take positions against the brick building, peering down the dirty alley.

"What did you see?" Mako asks but Korra hushes him, her hands pressed against the stone as she leans her head in to get a closer look. Mako looks as best he can while standing behind her, scanning the small space before he finally catches it; a small blaze of firelight that has appeared against the wall, coming from another entrance to the passageway. It's there for a few seconds before fading away into blackness only to reappear later.

Mako knows that's not natural fire and there can be only one explanation.

Korra glances at him. "Did you see it?" He nods in response.

"We've got to get closer, see what they're up to." He says, and the two slowly move to the other entrance. Hidden behind another wall, Mako can see it's not just one firebender, but three of them. They huddle outside a metal door, blowing bursts of flame into their hands to keep warm from the chilled temperature in the air.

Korra moves forward. "Let's get 'em." She says, but Mako already has a hand on her shoulder to hold her back and she pouts at him. The firebenders hear noise and they turn toward them. Mako and Korra press against the wall and eventually the bender go back to their business.

"We need to be patient and call the others." Mako says through his teeth.

"Then call them." Korra says. "That's an order."

Mako rolls his eyes and walks far down the alley so the firebender won't hear. Taking his radio from his waist he holds it up to his mouth, whispering:

"Attention Squad. Firebender sighted in the alley of West Dragon's Breath Avenue and Armadillo-Bear Lane. Set up around all entrances of the brick building on the corner. Approach with caution."

He finishes the order and walks back to Korra, placing a hand on her shoulder as he peers around the corner again.

"Got the message out, they're on their way." He says. Korra doesn't say anything in response, she's too busy watching the alley. The firebenders begin to mutter between the group, but they're too far way - Mako can't hear what they're saying.

He turns his ear in toward them, hoping to catch a word or two when the metal door the firebenders were standing before opens up and a man dressed in green and tan clothes (Mako assumes he's an earthbender) appears in the doorway and hurries the three benders inside. The closes with the click of a lock and Korra uses this as a sign to approach, pressing her ear to the door while Mako crouches next to her.

"I can't hear anything." She says, reaching into her side pouch to pull out a lockpick. She begins to work on the lock quietly, turning the metal carefully. Mako looks out into the street to see their Squad passing by. He waves them off when they stop, giving them a hand signal to surround the place and that they'd be going in soon. Korra's a fast lockpick and soon the door makes a _click_ and he knows they're in. After checking the other members to make sure they can get in he gives a small countdown.

"4…3…2…1!"

Korra throws the door open and runs inside while the other doors burst open. The Equalists swarm inside the room, surrounding the benders in it's center. The benders stand still for a moment around a table filled with papers and blueprints, assessing the enemy that has come crashing through their door. Mako swings a bola over his head, ready to strike when one of the firebenders they were watching outside slams his hand on the table and erupts it a sea of orange flames.

_Shit!_ Mako throws his bola at the firebender, wrapping it around his legs and sending him to the floor. But the plans and evidence they could have gotten are long gone, reduced to ash in a matter of seconds. The other benders take this time to get out of their frozen stupor and give out a screaming battle-cry, running at the Equalists with all they have.

Elements fly and bolas twist. Korra springs into action, taking down two benders with quick strong jabs to their torso. Mako subdues the earthbender they saw in the alley with his own chi-blocking technique - drawing his arms close to his middle as he dodges the throws of earth and attacks when the bender gets in too close and knocks his arms out of use as he crashes to the floor in a limp mess. Mako sees one of the bender trying to escape out a nearby window but he is quickly brought down by a swarm of bolas from his squad.

No escape.

"Ahh!"

Mako spins around at the sound of Korra's cry and he feels his heart drops three feet seeing her struggling against the firebender he had taken down before. He must have freed himself from the bola during the fray. Korra is slightly crouched, throwing her weight side to side as the bender throws his flames close to her. There's a tear on her arm, ripping through the uniform and exposing burnt skin. Mako runs over in an instant, jumping over the scorched table to send a heavy kick to the bender's head, knocking him to the floor.

The firebender gets up, swaying side to side as he tries to clear his shaken head. Seeing Mako standing before him, he growls and throws a fireball straight at his head. Mako ducks, feeling the heat fly past his head and launches himself at his attacker. Jabbing him through the arms, legs and torso, he falls to the ground. Mako delivers a final thrust into the man's neck, knocking him out cold. The other benders freeze at the advanced display of chi-blocking and the squad members take them down without much of a fight. Mako looks down at the man at his feet and sneers before telling the one of the members to call in a van to get these benders out of here. The squad gets to work in tying up the fallen men and Mako walks over to Korra, who is nursing her burn.

"Thanks for that." Korra says, wincing as she tests the skin around the wound. Mako crouches down next to her and takes a bandage out of his pouch, wrapping it loosely around the burn.

"This should hold you until we get back to headquarters," he says, tying the knot. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Korra says as he stands.

"Good." Mako smiles, helping her to her feet. The truck arrive a few minutes later and they hull the benders inside, taking them away to the guarded prisons beneath the city. Once the truck goes off, the squad gets back to their bikes a few blocks down. With the engine puttering beneath him and Korra's hands around him, he drives back to the hotel.

-.-

Mako writes down a quick summary of the mission when they get back, hunched over the hotel's front desk as he writes. They might have gotten the benders but their plans were lost - not a good sign for any of them, especially if they're planning to strike soon. He rubs his temples, trying to remember if he saw anything on the papers before they went up in flames.

With no memory present, he simply writes it off as a failure, advising that they take interrogation measures to pry the information out of the men. He thinks about erasing it afterward, since it would be the obvious thing to do anyway, but it's already down, so he'd might as well keep it. He finishes the report with a list of the benders taken down and a small note on the injuries sustained by the group. He places the report in a slot in the desk to be delivered to the General in the morning, and walks to the medical bay.

Korra went there as soon as they dismissed their squad, leaving the report to Mako's hands. He waits outside the closed door, hands behind his back and she comes out a moment later with her uniform top half off and a white bandage tied to her arm. He can see where the blood has already started to seep through the gauze.

"You okay?" he asks as they walk to the stairs. Korra blows a hair from her face and pulls up her uniform.

"I already told you before; I'm fine." She says, slipping her arm into the sleeve. "I was just careless back there - it won't happen again."

"Sorry," he rubs the back of his head as the climb the stairs. "I know you can handle yourself."

"And yet that doesn't stop you from being a worrywart." Korra says, going ahead of him. He thinks he can see a smile on her lips as she glances back at him. "I wonder what the rest of the division would think if they found out their 'fearless leader' is just a big sap."

Mako gives a light laugh."You're the leader, not me."

"Yeah but I can't be a good leader if my second-in-command is going soft, now can I?"

"You're impossible." He mutters, still smiling. Setting foot on the third floor, they go to their respected rooms, lingering at the doorways for a moment. Hands paused on the knobs.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He says, looking across the hall. "Goodnight, Korra."

"I'll try to see if I can't get you some time to sleep in," she replies, turning the handle. "Get some rest, Mako. You've earned it."

He smiles, and enters the room.

-.-

Morning comes late for him, sprawled out on his bed he shifts and sinks into the warm covers, not wanting to get up. His body is starting to feel the work from last night and he can barely find the strength to lift his arms through the blissful state his mind is in. It's only when he hears the door open does he feel some sense of awareness, cracking one eye to find Korra's face pressed into his.

He licks his lips. "What time is it?"

"Nearly one in the afternoon, you've been sleeping a lot." She says, sitting on the bed and toying with the loose strands of his hair, ripe and scattered with the night's rest. She pats his back next and jumps from the bed. "Come on, get dressed. The General wants you and me to demonstrate some chi-blocking for the division."

Mako sits up in the bed, pushing his hair back. "Will that be alright with your arm?"

"Yeah, it's not bad now." she says, lifting the gauze halfway to show him the burn. It's still ugly and scared but it doesn't look nearly as bad as it did last night. The flesh has been cleaned and the skin shows small signs of growing back. She's always been quick to heal, but it still amazes him at the rate she can fix herself up.

"I'll get some pain meds from the medical bay before we go, just in case." She continues, pulling the gauze back down and patting it lightly in place. She walks over to his closet and pulls out a tank-top, throwing it at him. "Put it on, we spare in ten minutes."

Mako pulls his other shirt off and pulls on the new one.

"Alright. See you in ten."

-.-

Mako wanders around the base floor until he finds signs pointing to a gym. Figuring that's where the demonstration will be held, he follows the path to a long open room, perfect for training purposes. There is already a fair-sized group waiting for them to start and Mako can't help but feel a little embarrassed to have to many eyes on him as he enters. The General is the first to approach him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Good to see you're finally up, Sergeant!" he laughs, shaking Mako as they walk. "I want you and the Master Sergeant to show us a few moves - I hear you had an impressive display of skill in last night's mission."

"It was nothing, sir." He says, uneasy. "I was just doing what my training has taught me, nothing more."

"Ah, yes. You trained under Amon himself, didn't you? Both you and Master Sergeant Korra?"

"That is correct, sir." Mako says, thinking back to when he first joined the Equalists three years ago, training in the halls with Amon's watchful eye above him, the mask never leaving his sight as he learned the various pressure points in the body, how to block chi and stop muscle movement. "Amon was a good teacher, sir. He taught us well."

"Well, now you have the chance to teach us as well." The General says as he looks toward the door. "There's the Master Sergeant now. I'm looking forward to it."

"We won't disappoint you, sir." Mako says.

"I'm sure you won't," The General slaps him on the back and takes a place in line with the others. Korra stops before Mako, bowing at him with her arms in front of her chest. He does the same, head tilted as she meets his eyes.

"You ready?" she asks. Mako takes his position, arms poised for the fight.

"Yes."

-.-

Korra is the first to attack, lunging forward with her hand aimed for his stomach. Mako brings his hand down and sweeps hers aside, sending a well placed jab to her left shoulder, right next to her collar bone. A hard hit, but she ignores it, using the pressure from his attack to send herself down to the floor. She kicks at his legs, almost knocking him over. He jumps backward, putting some distance between them as he catches balance again. She's quick to close it, though, and sends her hands at all points of his body, a barrage of attack, each meant to subdue and stop him cold.

But he's worked with her before and these attacks are child's play at this point. He blocks them, pushing and evading her hands with easy and fluid grace. She brings her elbow up to hit him in the head, he raises his forearm to stop it in it's place. Their skin is red and littered with the marks of blows but they can't help but grin in their close proximity, their face inches from each other, her breath on his lips and out of sight from the crowd.

"Give up yet?" she asks through her grin, pushing on his arm.

"Not a chance." He says, placing his other hand against his arm to push her back. He kicks at her feet and she jumps, landing with her finger digging into his left arm, sending a wave of pain into him, his muscle throbbing and useless as his arm falls down at his side, paralyzed by her quick thinking.

He crouches down and spins, his arm useless in fighting but perfect for throwing her off her game, going right in front of her and she ducks to not get hit by his arm only to be knocked down by his body weight slamming into her. She lands on her front and pushes from the ground but he puts his knee into her back and his good hand against the side her neck.

A near fatal blow - perfect for knocking someone out.

"Looks like I win." Mako says and Korra turns her head, both of them breathing hard, sweat rolling down their faces.

"Looks like it." She says. He gets up and helps her up. They face the crowd, receiving a sea of claps for their performance. The General claps longer than the rest, slow and hard hands hitting together as he approaches the duo.

"Fine work, you two. Just fine." He says, placing a hand on their shoulders. "We'll assess what we've learned here today and call you back tomorrow morning. For now, take the day to yourselves, you two have earned it."

"Are you sure, sir?" Mako asks. "We could always-"

Korra's not-so-subtle elbow to his side is enough to shut him up and she thanks the General quickly, pulling Mako out the door before they can get caught up in anything else.

-.-

"Are you sure this is okay?" Mako asks as he gets the motorcycle set up. "We didn't do much for them and our mission last night was more or less a failure."

"It's fine, we'll get the information soon enough." Korra leans against the wall, hands behind her head. "Who knows when there might be another time for us to get the day off, it's better to take what we can get."

"And where do you want to go, exactly?" he says, taking a seat and starting the engine. It roars to life beneath in and she climbs on, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Surprise me." She says into his ear.

Mako grins and pulls off from the curb, driving into the city with a trail of smoke and dust in his wake.

-.-

He takes her to the tourist spots first; riding slowly through the park, climbing up the Harmon Tower to see the whole city - she leans against the railing, further and further, as if it would get her a better view. They walk along the streets, browse through shop windows and eating from food vendors on the ends of street corners. He has a great time doing all these things and she does too, pulling him along every time she sees a new thing she wants to see or try. It almost seems natural, doing this. As if there wasn't a war for the balance of the world going on, as if the events of the previous night hadn't happened at all.

Eventually the day turns to night and they end up standing by the waters of Yue Bay, bodies pressed into the railing and looking out into the water's deep depths. The former Probending Arena still stands out, shining it's bright yellow lights across the bay. Korra stands close to Mako, her shoulder brushing against his.

She stares out to the arena.

"Did you ever go to see it before?" she asks, her voice quiet. "Probending?"

Mako scratches his face. "I went to a match or two when my parents were alive."

"Oh," Korra looks down to the water.

"It's in the past now," he says, crossing his arms on the rail and sinking into the metal. "Besides, I barely remember them nowadays."

"Right… it's been about ten years, hasn't it?" she says, recalling the time when he had told her about them first. He was eight when his parents were killed in front of him. Then he was alone with no one to go to.

"It was a bender, wasn't it?" she asks. "Who killed them?"

"Yeah…" he sighs. "A firebender."

"Sorry, Mako." She says, resting her head on him. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's okay," he replies. "I don't think about them much more anyway."

Korra sighs. Mako looks into the bay. The two of them lost in thought, tired from the day's work.

"We should probably get back now, huh?" she says, changing the subject. Her body pressing into him, warming him in the cold air.

"Probably." Mako gets off the rail, stretching with his back to her. He turns around to head back to the motorcycle when Korra goes right up to his face, clashing her lips into his. It's sudden, and it takes him a second or two to process what is happening, but then his brain goes off and he leans into her, moving a hand across her back to hold her closer while her fingers rub on the fabric of his clothes. This kiss is quick and it's over before he knows it is as they part ways with hazy heads and red cheeks. Korra smiles, lowering her chin to her neck, blushing madly. She looks more of the seventeen year old girl now than a highly-trained officer. He hasn't seen her be like this in a long time. Ages, in fact.

"This was fun," she says, looking slightly embarrassed and fidgeting around with her hands. "Thanks for taking me."

"Yeah," Mako says, the ghost of a smile forming on his face as he tries to control the red feeling on his face. "No problem."

-.-

He takes the long way back to headquarters, driving slowly on the empty roads. Korra has her head on his back, breathing softly, he thinks she might be asleep. Mako rounds another corner, feeling the wind flow past his face and hair as he navigates down the street. It's a quiet night and late and really, they should have been back and reported in hours ago, but he doesn't seem to mind right now. He's feeling on top of the world - nothing can stop him.

But then he smells something in the air and knows it's not natural. Mako slows the motorcycle to a halt, leaning it to one side while he tries the air again to make sure it wasn't a hoax. Korra stirs behind him, raising her head.

"What's going on?" she asks. Mako looks behind himself.

"I smelled firebending." He says coldly. "It's fresh."

That gets Korra awake and she sits up on the seat, searching around for any signs of a bender.

"Know where they are?" she asks, scanning the street.

"Not yet, I-" he sees the glow of flames further down the street. "-There!"

Korra squeezes his shoulder. "Park the bike here; we'll go in on foot."

-.-

Another alley. Another firebender.

Mako walks down the street slowly, his hands out in front of him, ready for a fight. Korra walks beside him and they slowly take positions at the corner, listening as the firebender continues to bend his flames.

"Listen here, we don't have time to get plan this crap out." The firebender says, his voice nasally. "We do it tonight or not at all."

"Chan, we don't have enough men to handle an assault like this-" another voice joins in. "- we need more time."

"Lee and his guys got taken in last night by those no-good Equalists, we can't let them down by messing this up." Chan says, his voice growing angrier by the minute.

"We've got to do something." Korra whispers. "This could be our only chance."

Mako nods. The voices in the alley stop talking for a second. He can hear footsteps.

"Hey, who's there?!" Chan yells and the glow of the flames gets closer. Korra holds her breath, waiting for the fire to get even closer, until he's nearly at the corner. Then, when he reaches it, she jumps out. Chan hollers in surprise is unable to block or dodge as Korra moves in and chi-blocks his arm. The fire in his hand fades and dies, his arm hanging at his side.

"Equalists!" Chan shouts, throwing a fireball to get send Korra back. "Get out of here!"

The others run.

"Mako!" Korra shouts. "Get them!"

He runs into the alley, ducking underneath one of Chan's attacks as he tries to run. The other benders have gotten a head start but Chan is hurt and slow and scared. Mako is fast and he runs up right behind him, hands ready to strike his back and neck when a large bolder comes shooting from the side. Mako skids to a halt, barely missing the rock as it slams into the alley wall. He turns, running toward the bender with his arms out-

"Mako?"

-and he freezes, right in his spot.

He knows that voice. Mako stares at the earthbender in front of him, standing cautiously, but his face is twitching with curiosity. He gets closer. Mako continues to stare.

"Mako?" the earthbender repeats. "Is that you?"

He's close enough to touch him, to hug and rustle his turtleduck hair and Mako takes in a breath, lifting a hand toward the bender. His mouth isn't working right, his voice is trapped in his throat.

"Bolin-"

"What are you doing?!" Korra shouts, snapping Mako from his trance. Bolin jumps and the sound of her yell and Korra runs, kicking Bolin back, placing herself between him and Mako. He looks unsure, taking a few steps back before running away. Korra almost gives chase, but instead she turns back to Mako, shoving him back into the wall.

"What in spirits was that about?! You let them get away!"

"Sorry, I-" Mako stops, struggling to find the right words. "I don't know what happened."

"We could have gotten one of them and learn right now about their plans!" Korra jabs his chest so hard, he think it might bruise. "Now they're planning on doing this thing tonight and we have no idea what they're up to!"

"Look," he says, standing up from the wall. "We'll figure this out - right now we need to get back to base and tell them what we _do_ know."

Korra is still brimming with anger and clenches her hands into fists. She lets out a long breath through her nose, turning away from him to walk back to the street.

"Let's get back quickly." She says. "We need to get ready."

-.-

"What?! What do you mean they got away?!" The General shouts, getting right into Korra's face. "Do you have any idea what this means?!"

"We're sorry, sir. There was nothing we could do." Korra says, trying to keep her voice even. "You have to alert the whole division, every outpost we have. The attack could happen at any time, at any place. We need to be ready for whatever happens."

The General grumbles, puffing out smoke from a cigarette and pacing around the room, trying to think of the best course of action.

"You there," he says, pointing to a nearby Private. "Get Captain Zhao on the phone. I have urgent news for him."

"Yes, sir."

"Master Sergeant," The General says, facing Korra once more. "You and Sergeant Mako get a team ready in the motor-pool. We'll need the vehicles ready to go."

"Right." Korra bows, going out of the smoking room. She finds Mako in the main hall, sitting on the steps.

"Come on, Mako. Time to go."

Mako lifts his head and rises from the steps, following her out the door.

"Where are we going?"

"The motor-pool, we need to get the vehicles ready for deployment." She explains. Mako is silent behind her and she sighs. "Look - whatever happened back there is in the past now, alright? I'm not going to blame you for anything."

Mako says nothing. They go to the motor-pool.

-.-

They get their squad and get to work on making sure the vehicles are in working order. Mako fills the tank with gas, working silently while Korra oversees the others. Once they're done, Korra orders the squad to patrol the streets around the base. In a fury of roaring engines and the strong smell of gas, Mako and Korra are left alone. All they can do now is sit and wait for news to come.

Korra is the first to speak.

"So… who was he?" she asks, taking a seat on the floor where Mako had parked himself. His head is down, looking on the dirty floor.

"It's nothing," he says, "Just my imagination."

"I know it was more than that, Mako." She puts her hand on his, leaning in to meet his eyes. "Tell me."

Mako sighs.

"He's-"

An explosion rips through the motor-pool - and his words are lost in the flames.

-.-

They get up coughing, covered in smoke and flames. Mako can barely see anything through the thick smoke and he struggles to breath. The smoke is covering the whole room and he think that one of the walls might have been taken out. There are shadows moving through the haze, undoubtedly benders. He grabs Korra's arm, pulling her away from the shadows and through the smoke, trying to find a door or possibly the hole they just blew in. He finds a red door with an bright 'EXIT' sign above it, the neon lights now faded and dead. They must have knocked out the power to the building before starting the explosion, Mako kicks the door down, running through it without thought of who or what might be waiting on the other side.

Luckily, there's no one waiting for them yet. Mako lets go of Korra and they search around the darkened street, the only source of light coming from the fires of the blast. He thinks there might be bender down there, but he's not eager to find out right now. Korra tugs on his sleeve, pulling him in the opposite direction.

"This way!" she shouts and he follows her, with nowhere else to go. They run around the building until they come in contact with a frenzied brawl; benders fighting equalists around the perimeter of the hotel. There are a few more holes near the entrance and on other parts of the streets - it must have taken the bender some time to round up the explosives without anyone noticing.

Korra runs into the fight. "Come on, Mako!"

He follows, running right behind her when he notices something happening near the edge of the fight. He see Bolin and Chan running away to the streets, a group of Chi-Blockers at their tail. He breaks away from Korra, running to the pursuing group.

He hopes he can find him before they do.

-.-

The group of Chi-Blockers run through the streets, searching for the two benders but finding nothing. Mako follows them at a safe distance, not wanting to be found and looks around the ground for any signs of where they could have gone. There's a few scorch marks here and there, but he can't be sure they were from Chan. Mako bends down and rubs his fingers across them, bringing the black soot to his nose. They smell fresh. He follows the marks until the stop a few feet from another alley and walks down it, turning his head from side to side.

"Bolin?" he calls. "Are you here?"

"Mako?"

He turns around to see Bolin coming out from behind a dumpster, looking at him with caution.

"What are you doing here, bro?" Bolin asks, walking forward. "What happened to you?"

His voice in caught in his throat again. He struggles to get the words.

"I-"

"Damn Equalist!"

Mako turns and dives to the ground just as a trail of fire sweeps past his head. Chan is close - he didn't even hear him approach - and Mako punches upward, knocking him square in the jaw. Chan is pushed back but continues his assault, swinging at Mako with fire on his fists. Mako sidesteps and dodges, trying to find an opening but Chan is aiming at his center, not allowing him to fight back. He makes a sweeping kick at his head and Mako jumps back, flames singing against his front.

Then Bolin joins in.

"Wait, Chan stop!" he shouts, running up to the angry firebender, trying his best to end the fight before it gets any worse. "Stop, he's my brother, Chan. Please, let him talk."

"What kind of brother _does that,_ huh?!" Chan spits, pointing a burning finger at Mako. "Joins _them_? Goes after us? He's scum, Bolin."

"Just let him talk, Chan." Bolin holds his hand in front of him. "Please."

"I'm done talking," Chan snarls, clenching his fist, flames roaring from his hand. "If you're not going to help me, then get out of my way!"

"Chan, wait-"

"Move!" Chan yells, punching his burning hand toward Bolin. He's too close to get out of the way, there's no time-

- and Mako throws his hand into the air to send a blast of hot flame from it. The fire is fast and unexpected, hitting Chan right in the chest and knocking him back. He coughs, struggling to breath through the smoke and scent of burnt skin, looking at Mako with eyes wide with fear and shock.

"H-he's a bender? But how-"

Mako does let him finish. He goes up to Chan and hits the side of his neck. His head hits the pavement with a solid _thump_. He does not move again. Mako turns to Bolin.

"Are you alright?" he asks. Bolin stands there, shocked for the moment before a huge grin spreads on his face and he runs up to his brother, pulling him in for a long-awaited hug. Mako is frozen for a second, but returns it, happy that his brother - his only family left in the world - is safe once again.

"Mako, you have to tell me everything!"Bolin says, breaking the hug. "Why in the world did you join up with the Equalists?"

Mako smiles down on his brother.

"I had to-"

He stops, seeing someone behind him.

His heart stops. She wasn't supposed to be here.

"Korra…"

He doesn't finish. The look on Korra's face stops him from thinking. It's wide, contorted into disgust, hate and betrayal - Mako takes a step toward her but she takes one back. His foot freezes mid-stride, hanging in place with his toe touching the pavement.

"You're a bender?" she asks, her hands tight fists at her side, shaking in anger. Korra closes her eyes, bearing her teeth and taking in sharp air as she looks at him fully, tears brimming in her eyes. "You traitor! Coward! You dirty piece of rhino-horse shit!"

"Korra, wait-" Mako shouts, holding his hand out. "Please, just listen. I can explain-"

"Shut up!" Korra yells, charging at Mako in a blind rage. She attacks him; throwing her hands randomly, aiming for any point she can. She gets a few good hits to his leg and stomach in but Mako blocks all the rest. Finally, he throws fire at the ground between them and Korra jumps back, her hair a mess, covering her face and her eyes fearful, staring at him with disbelief. Mako steps into the sinking flames, not minding the heat and Korra sinks to the ground in defeat, her hands to the ground, unable to attack him again.

Mako crouches down, placing a hand on both of her shoulders in a tight grip, shaking her as she lower her head, refusing to look at him. Bolin steps up from behind, standing before his brother. The fighting is ending - there will be patrols going around soon, looking for any survivors.

"Bro, we have to go." Bolin says. Mako takes a hand off of Korra and slips it under her chin, lifting her face just enough to look into her red, puffing eyes.

"I'm sorry, Korra." He says and his voice cracks and he can't _breathe_ this is too hard to do. "I didn't want it to come to this. Ever."

He releases her and Korra's head drops down again. Mako stands, and she makes no motion. He backs away, running off into the darkness with his brother. Korra sits there, on the cold ground and does not follow him.

Everything has gone all wrong. Terribly, dreadfully wrong.

And it's all his fault.

**:Fin:**

_It's done._

_It's finally done._

_I'm dONE. Hope you enjoyed it this was a lot of fun to write. :) Drop off a comment / review in the link below! I'd love to know what you thought of this!_

_May or may not do a continuation / multi-chapter fic for this. We'll see. ;)_


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